Yoga is one of the best workouts that combines mind and body relaxation. Dating back to ancient India, this age-old practice was designed initially to help the mind reach a peaceful, empty state suitable for long periods of mediation. Over many years, this amazing practice has evolved into many different styles, some of which cater to healing the body of all sorts of ailments, from scoliosis to headaches and more. Other styles are designed for complete mental and physical release, making them suitable for pregnancy, stress ailments, and people of all body types.
In the Tahoe area, we’re lucky to have some great yoga studios with a variety of offerings. Each studio has uniquely different offerings, so it’s a treat to try them all.
If you love immersing yourself in study in workshop form, The Yoga Room in Tahoe City is the place for you. Several times a month, this studio invites teachers to delve deeper into yoga and spiritual topics in workshop form, meaning there’s more information and a longer yoga practice. This is a great way to deepen your skills, and also a nice way to treat yourself to learning more about yoga.
Heat it up! The concept of practicing yoga in a heated room was developed by Bikram Choudhury and named “Bikram Yoga”. The practice involves 26 postures which were selected to work every part of the body, including the muscles, ligaments, internal organs, and veins, and the heated room allows students to reach the maximum capability of each posture. Tahoe City’s Mountain Lotus Yoga offers Bikram Yoga in a lakefront setting. Truckee Yoga Collective also offers a heated vinyasa flow class for those wanting a heated element in a traditional flow-style class.
Yoga Studio Tahoe in Truckee hosts the area's largest dedicated yoga studio. With plush floors, a mirrored wall, a high-end sound system, and a capacity of 50, this space was designed as a yoga sanctuary. The studio is heated and the offerings are Vinyasa flow classes, with some "Bikram style" classes and occassional workshops.
If healing from an injury or just plain relaxation are your goals, the Yoga Room offers both gentle and restorative yoga. At Truckee Yoga Collective, there’s slow flow, and there is also restorative yoga at Truckee’s Tahoe Yoga and Wellness Center. Alignment-based yoga is also great for injury recovery. BKS Iyengar designed a style of yoga that focused on specific alignment cues for poses, getting the body into the optimal poses for realigning the spine. Iyengar yoga can be found at the Yoga Room.
For athletes, yoga can present an eye-opening shift in body function. It can help increase flexibility and mobility, as well as balance and concentration. These are key elements to help create a well-rounded approach to physical fitness, no matter what sport you participate in. Athletes will especially appreciate Sherry McConkey’s “yoga for althetes” class at Squaw Valley’s Wanderlust Yoga Studio. Sherry began her yogic journey after being an active athlete for many years, and realizing she needed to heal her body. Her late husband was famed skier Shane McConkey, well-known in the Tahoe area for his fun-loving attitude and incredible skiing ability.
For the beginner, many of the above studios also offer a basic or intro to yoga class, proving that yoga can be suitable for anybody, at any age, male or female. And for the advanced, there are higher level classes as well, offering a great physical challenge with the reward of feeling relaxed and cleansed at the end of class. Whatever your skill level or motivation for attending, yoga can bring a little zen to anyone’s day.